Portable digital media players allow consumers to carry their music and other media with them wherever they go. Devices such as the iPod™ are rapidly gaining popularity. It is also desirable to connect these portable digital audio players to audio systems in vehicles such as cars, campers, or boats. Such a connection will allow music to be played through the speakers for multiple persons to enjoy, rather than through the headphones for one person to hear.
Currently, there are two main options for connecting a portable digital audio player to an audio system in a car, a camper, a boat or other vehicles. Using the first option, a portable digital audio player is connected to the vehicle audio system via a cassette adapter. A cassette-shaped interface on one end of the adapter inserts into the vehicle audio system's tape deck. A mini-plug on the other end of the adapter inserts into the portable digital audio player's headphone jack. This connection allows the portable digital audio player to connect to the vehicle audio system through the in-dash cassette player. However, this option is problematic. First, the ease in which the connections are able to disconnect forces a user to carefully organize the tangle of cords required to connect the device to the tape player. Next, using this connection degrades the sound coming out of the device since it must be transferred from the device to the tape cassette and then from the cassette to the stereo.
A second option involves connecting a portable digital audio player to the vehicle audio system via a wireless FM transmitter, which allows the portable digital audio player's music to play wirelessly through any FM radio. This connection is also lossy and is subject to normal radio transmission problems such as difficulty in tuning and the inability to receive transmission in certain locations.
Both options require finding placement for the portable digital audio player somewhere in the vehicle, separate from the vehicle audio system. The second option also requires finding placement for the transmitter itself. In vehicles such as cars, campers, or boats, space is at a premium and it is difficult to find space to secure the portable digital audio player and/or the transmitter such that it would not fall or move about as the vehicle is moving. In addition, in a boat, audio systems are often made to be waterproof. The current methods of connecting a portable digital audio player to a vehicle audio system would not give it any protection from the elements, thus making water, dust, and other damage to the portable digital audio player more likely.
As described, once connected the portable digital media player typically plays through an external device such as a tape player and/or the speakers of an existing audio system. The existing audio system usually comprises an interface at the front for controlling the device and a rear chassis housing remaining circuitry. However, because of the size and configuration of the front interface and the rear chassis when the audio system is mounted to a surface, the front interface faces outward toward a user while the rear chassis extends through and into the surface. Consequently, the device is only able to be mounted onto a surface with a large enough cavity or rear space with which to accommodate the device. Accordingly, connection of the portable digital media player is limited to those instances where there is enough space to accommodate the user interface and rear chassis of an external audio system.